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First I want to say that at 2 year currently I don’t consider myself a success because, losing weight is easy, maintaining is the hard part. I really hope that some people that have maintain for some years post here. Most of the posts from long term WLS patients are about their failures, regain and trying to “get back on the wagon”. We need more positive posts for people that are doing well and enjoying their post-op life. Hopefully this can be a resource for other people. I followed my post-op plan to the letter almost for the first 6 months. I did not heavily experiment, I did not push limits. I did not advance my food stages. This provided a mental reset that completely changed my outlook and relationship with food. The mental reset from following the food stages and changing my relationship with food in the first 6 months was the most valuable experience. I do not feel deprived. I found a way of eating that does not feel like a diet. I can eat food that I enjoy and I still really love and enjoy eating food. Food enriches my life, it doesn’t control my life. Weighing my Food Tracking my Food Weigh myself every morning, record it once a week Staying calorie aware and spending my daily calories like currency Planning for eating out. If I am going to eat out for dinner, I allot extra calories for dinner and cut back on my food earlier in the day. If I eat lunch out then I cut back on dinner. I exceed my initial goal for myself pretty rapidly (250) and I have gone further in my weight loss than I ever dreamed I could when I started this. All the benefits from being so close to a normal BMI motivate me to defend my weight loss diligently. I know the difference between being morbidly obese and just being overweight and being overweight is far more comfortable.

So exited about finally having a food I can chew for the first time in 5 weeks!!!! Best scrambled egg of my life lol

Almost all surgeons require you to be tobacco free, sometimes up to 6 months pre op. Nicotine hinders healing and causes stomach ulcers after WLS. I quit in September 2016 and my surgery was 6/21/17. I quit cold turkey and have not touched one since, but I understand where you are coming from. It's hard to break. My surgeon had me do a nicotine urine test 2 days prior to surgery and if it was positive my surgery would have been cancelled. Some surgeons do a test at the beginning of your journey and prior to surgery to be safe. Good luck quitting! It's for the best! You can do this!

I had a headache, too. About a week out. I think it was because calories were too low - 300 about.

Good luck on your recovery. I hope it is swift and painless and with very few bumps along the way.

I received approval from Aetna! (Aetna POS II). I did the 90 day Multi-disciplinary approach. Technically I started in December, but I had a little hiccup and missed one of my appointments with my Primary Care Doctor in January. All I did was tack on an extra appointment with him in April, and all was good. When I first started I was so confused about Aetna's requirements, so I wanted to share for those that are taking the same route. Here is what I did to get approved. December: I met with the Surgeon and bariatric coordinator. I was intimidated about the process because of the insurance requirements. I started a journal to help keep track of my appointments and for a place to relay my thoughts as I went through everything. I met with my Primary Care doc for appointment 1 of 3. I met with a physical Therapist office, the week before Christmas, inside of our local YMCA to meet the exercise requirement. I wasn't sure how often I was supposed to meet with them. I scheduled an appointment twice a week. I later found out that once a month would have sufficed. January: I met with nutritionist for appointment 1 of 3 I met with psychologist for appointment 1 of 3 I met with Primary Care doc for a reason not related to weight loss, so it did not count as appointment #2, and I had to start over in February with my PCP visits. I met with physical therapist twice per week. February: I met with nutritionist for appointment 2 of 3 (I lost10 pounds at this weigh in) I met with psychologist for appointment 2 of 3 . I met with Primary Care doc for appointment 1 of 3 (again...sigh) I learned that I only needed to meet with the exercise therapist once per month, so I only had one visit this month. March: I met with nutritionist for appointment 3 of 3 (I lost 9 more pounds at this weigh in) I met with psychologist for appointment 3 of 3, and took the evaluation test. I met with Primary Care doc for appointment 2 of 3. Since I had already had 3 months straight with the exercise therapist, I did not go anymore after my February appointment. But I did keep an exercise log and gave it to my bariatric coordinator to submit as well, just to help my case. April: 1 visit with Primary Care doc For some reason it took my PCP a while to get everything sent over to the bariatric coordinator so that she could submit it for approval, but it was finally submitted on 4/25, and approval was granted on 5/5. I am 5'9 and started out in December at 290 pounds. As of today I am 259 pounds and I'm proud that I did that on my own. I feel confident and have proven to myself that I can make the lifestyle and habit changes that are required in order to make this tool successful. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in December, which lit the fire under me to get serious about my health. I am waiting for a call back from the Bariatric coordinator so that I can get my pre-op appointment and surgery scheduled. This has been quite a journey so far. I'm excited to watch it all unfold.

All went well! Full duodenal switch performed!

Don't be fooled...it is very much possible to overindulge with any type of weight loss surgery. Look at Carnie Wilson, one of the most famous gastric bypass recipients...started at nearly 300 pounds, got down to 150 pounds, then regained two-thirds of the weight. Anyone can regain with a lap band, sleeve or bypass through overindulgence. Those who are still in their honeymoon periods never envision it happening to them, but the slippery slope always looms. Forewarned is forearmed. Never say never.

Personally I think it is a combination of mindset, never changing their relationships with food, and laziness. Processed and fast food is easy. My mindset is the changes I am making now must be for life. These changes are not a diet, they are a healthy lifestyle. I know plenty of people that eat healthy and don't indulge in junk food or sweets and they have never had a weight problem. I don't understand why some people consider healthy food selections and portions as a restrictive diet mentality?

I had my gall bladder removed in 2009 after losing lots of weight very quickly on HCG. I gained weight back but it was because I stopped doing HCG and went back to my old, nasty way of eating. I had vsg on 2/6/2017 and am eating healthy and happily and steadily losing weight. The gall bladder is simply a storage unit for bile to be released into the stomach when bile is needed. If you eat high fat foods more bile is needed to break down the food so the gall bladder goes to town. The reason we don't necessarily need a gall bladder is because the pancreas can do the same thing. As a matter of fact the pancreas is what fills the gall bladder in the event that bile is needed. When we crash diet or go on a very low calorie diet the gall bladder just sits there with all this bile just waiting for you to pound down a couple Big Macs again. When you don't, it just sits in there and crystallizes into stones. The stones move into the opening where it hurts like hell. Then into surgery for gall bladder removal. As you can see, this has nothing to do with weight loss or gain. You will not gain weight because you do not have a gall bladder. Take care